Search results for "Ancient"

mtDNA analysis of the human remains buried in the sarcophagus of Federico II

2005

Abstract The sarcophagus containing the remains of Federico II, located in the Cathedral of Palermo (Sicily, Italy), was opened on 1998 to perform a multidisciplinary survey [1]. Next to the remains of Federico II and in close contact with them were laying two other skeletons belonging, according to historical records, to Pietro II di Aragona and to an anonymous person (“The Third Individual”), probably a woman. The bones appeared severely deteriorated. Chemical analysis performed on bone samples excluded that the bodies underwent some kind of embalming process. The analysis of mtDNA from bone samples taken from the three skeletons was successful in only one of the two labs involved. The HV…

Biomolecular study of the human remains from tomb 5859 in the Etruscan necropolis of Monterozzi Tarquinia (Vitarbo, Italy)

2004

Abstract Archaeological excavation in an Etruscan room tomb, from the Monterozzi necropolis in Tarquinia led to the recovery of four individuals. It was hypothesized that they could be members of a single family group. As both archaeological data and classical anthropological analysis provided little information in this direction, ancient DNA (aDNA) was extracted from bone and tooth fragments of the individuals. For each subject HVR-I of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was cloned and sequenced. To identify the sex of the individuals, amelogenine and SRY genes were analysed. Short tandem repeat (STR) characterization was also performed. DNA studies were preceded by the evaluation of amino acid…

Ancient DNA provides no evidence for independent domestication of cattle in Mesolithic Rosenhof, Northern Germany

2008

Abstract Recent studies of modern and ancient mtDNA in domesticated and wild cattle has indicated that members of the extinct Near Eastern aurochs population (Bos primigenius primigenius) were the wild progenitors of European domesticated cattle (Bos taurus) (Bollongino, R., Edwards, C.J., Burger, J., Alt, K.W., Bradley, D.G., 2006. Early history of European domestic cattle as revealed by ancient DNA. Biol. Lett. 2, 155–159; Edwards, C.J., Bollongino, R., Scheu, A., Chamberlain, A., Tresset, A., Vigne, J.-D., Baird, J.F., Larson, G., Ho, S.Y.W., Heupink, T.H., Shapiro, B., Freeman, A.R., Thomas, M.G., Arbogast, R.-M., Arndt, B., Bartosiewicz, L., Benecke, N., Budja, M., Chaix, L., Choyke, A…

A central italian coin with Dyonysus/Panther types, and contacts between Central Italy and Spain in the 2nd and 1rst centuries BC

2014

Tres monedas del tipo “Dionisio / pantera” se han encontrado en Cataluña. Una de ellas proviene de las excavaciones llevadas a cabo en Cabrera de Mar (Ilturo). Esta moneda es un componente clave del ensamblaje centro-itálico de las emisiones Italo-béticas que data de finales de la década de los 90 e inicios del decenio de los 80 a.C. La pieza, probablemente llego a la zona durante las Guerras Sertorianas (80–72) y con toda seguridad antes del 50 a.C. Por ello, revisamos en este trabajo las evidencias existentes para los contactos entre la Hispania Citerior e Italia central, entre la Hispania Citerior y la Ulterior, y finalmente entre la Hispania Ulterior y la Italia central. Con esta finali…

Offerings for the gate: a ritual deposit at the West Gate of la Bastida de les Alcusses (Moixent, Valencia)

2015

En este trabajo se dan a conocer los resultados de las excavaciones llevadas a cabo en la Puerta Oeste de a Bastida de les Alcusses entre los años 2010 y 2011. Asociado a una renovación de las estructuras de la entrada y la muralla, se documentó un depósito de varios centenares de objetos incluyendo herrajes, maderas, armas, cerámica, semillas, frutos, fauna y restos constructivos. Presentamos el estudio multidisciplinar de todos los materiales y las varias líneas de interpretación que nos sugiere este extraordinario contexto.

Osteological evidence for the Battles of Zürich, 1799: a glimpse into soldiery of the past

2003

Institute of Anthropology, University of Mainz, GermanyABSTRACT Four human skeletons probably could be attributed to people killed during the Battles ofZu¨rich in 1799. Cranial and postcranial gunshot wounds are consistent with those made byblack powder weapons using lead balls as ammunition. Additional finds include a probablecase of Scheuermann’s Disease and a pipe smoker’s facet. Copyright 2003 John Wiley S Switzerland; gunshot wounds; Scheuermann’s disease; pipesmoking; palaeopathology

Odeion and imperial cult at Scythopolis - GABRIEL MAZOR AND ARFAN NAJJAR, with contributions by EDNA AMOS, RACHEL BAR-NATHAN, ARIEL BERMAN and DÉBORA…

2009

Temperature monitoring in archaeological animal bone samples in the Near East arid area, before, during and after excavation

2008

Summary In order to estimate experimentally the intensity and amplitude of thermal shocks during and after excavation, we monitored temperatures of archaeological bones on the field at three Syrian sites of the arid steppe, Qaramel, Dja'de and Aswad. Water cleaning and sun drying appear to be the most damaging steps, with temperature variations of ca. 11,000 °C/h and 84 °C/h, respectively. Ancient DNA (aDNA) bone samples kept between −7 and +12 °C from their extraction to the lab suffered much lower thermal variations (6 °C/h). Estimation of the temperature variations at different depths in the soil suggests that aDNA has suffered negative thermal conditions shortly after burial and again d…

Practical Movements: Kinetic rituals in the Ancient Western Mediterranean

2011

Scholars have studied the long-distance movements of people and goods in Phoenician and Punic society between the eighth and the second centuries BC in considerable depth. However, little attention has been paid to travelling, walking and sailing as common activities in their daily lives. it was through living in and moving through landscapes and seascapes that people constructed their sense of place. Sacred places may have been nodal points in these settings and everyday movements may well have become ritualized. This article develops the idea that journeys to shrines might be considered as pilgrimages and stresses the kinetic aspect of these practices. I suggest that trips to shrines were…

The ivory workshop of Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, Spain) and the identification of ivory from Asian elephant on the Iberian Peninsula in the…

2013

During excavations in the huge ditched enclosure of Valencina de la Concepcion (Seville, Spain), the main centre from the first hierarchical framework-settlement in the Guadalquivir Valley, a pit with remains of a context for producing ivory artefacts, dating from the first half of the 3rd millennium BC, was discovered in the large metallurgical nucleate workshops. Scientific (Optical Microscopy, FIRT and Raman Spectroscopy, C/N Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry) analyses revealed that the ivory belonged to Asian elephants and the archaeological study, which was made in a specialized workshop context. In this paper we present the archaeological context, the study of the ivory artefacts and th…